Anywhere But Here
by lyssawolf126
Summary: What happened in Jessica's past that made her the way she is today? Is she willing to change? At what cost and what will that mean for her future? One-shot about the past of Jessica Stanley.


**Disclaimer: Stephenie owns all. I don't. It's not fair, but not even in fanfic is the world fair. **

**I came up with this idea because I really wanted to know the true origin of Jessica's personality. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed creating the reason. Although, it is sad. **

"You're ugly and a dumb blond. You will grow up to be worthless and a whore."

When you grow up listening to you mother say that to you, you start to believe it after a while. I remember hearing that and much worse ever since I learned how to talk. That's why I am the way I am. My self-confidence is below the ground. I kept believing that until about two and a half years ago.

That's when I realized that I was actually smart. I was fooling around on the Internet when I found an IQ quiz. I decided to take it serious and actually see how smart I actually was. Well, I can tell you this much, when I got my scores back, I nearly had a heart attack. I always thought I was stupid and here I am getting a wonderful score that any person would die for. I decided then and there that I would apply myself to my schoolwork and try my hardest to get out of this dump.

It really wasn't that hard to hide my newfound motivation. I knew that if my mother found out, she would do everything in her power to stop me. She wanted me to live at home forever to take care of all the bills and everything that was supposed to be the her responsibility. She was always out on the town and doing God knows what with God knows whom. As for my dad, well, he bailed the first chance he got. I intercepted every report card so that she wouldn't get suspicious about me suddenly getting straight A's. She took solace in the fact that I used to get straight C's and D's. That meant I didn't have a future, thus I would have to stay at home and work.

I applied myself to everything that I did. From the middle of 10th grade to my senior year, I got A's in every class. As my senior year was coming to an end, I filled out every college application I could get my hands on. My GPA was amazing and my SAT scores were beyond compare. I really wanted to become a social service agent. I didn't want any child to go through what I went through as a child. I wanted them to have a normal childhood not plagued by insecurities.

Out of this whole situation, the weirdest thing happened when I was at school one day. During lunch, I was thinking about what other colleges I could apply to that were far away from here when in walked Bella and Edward, followed by the rest of Edward's family. I was thinking about how lucky Bella was. She has a wonderful personality and a beautiful face to go with it. She is so smart and she was going to one of the best colleges in America. She has a wonderful boyfriend who I'm sure she was planning on marrying one day. She had everything I ever wanted.

I wasn't jealous of her anymore or filled with scorn towards her. My newfound determination also applied to changing my attitude and actually trying to be nice. Then and there I made a commitment to try and have a life just like hers. I saw Edward give me a strange look, but I dismissed, thinking I probably had something on my face. **(Edward read her mind and was surprised to see that she changed who she was and was also happy to see that she was no longer holding any bad feelings for his Bella.) **I wanted to find love with someone who loved me because of who I was, not because of my looks. I wanted to go to an amazing college and be successful.

Just then Edward walked to my table and sat across from me. I think I was the most surprised out of everyone at my table. Then, he started to talk to me.

"Hello, Jessica. I heard that you wanted to become a social service agent. I know of this amazing college that you might want to apply for. It specializes in that field."

He gave me the college name and then left to sit with his family before I could get over my shock and thank him. When lunch was over I intercepted him before he left the cafeteria.

"Thank you so much for your help Edward. I hope you and Bella have a good life together." I shook his hand and was surprised at how cold it was. I wonder if he was getting sick.

"You're very welcome Jessica. I hope you succeed."

He left after that. I took his advice and applied for the school. It's been two weeks since I applied and the letter was supposed to arrive any day now. I was really nervous because I really wanted to get away from this life. Not only was this school amazing, but also it was also very, very far away and for that I was even more grateful for his help.

I got up really early to intercept the mail, seeing as I didn't want my mother to know about me getting accepted into college. The mailman came just as I walked out the front door. He slipped the mail into the mailbox skillfully, and then he proceeded to the next house.

Please be there. Please be there. I silently prayed and also wishing that if it was there, it would be my acceptance letter. I hesitantly opened the mailbox as if opened it with confidence would shatter my chances of getting in. I pulled the mail out and ran back inside. I ran into my room, shutting and locking my door on the way to my bed. I looked through each letter. Junk, junk, bills, bills….

Then I came across the letter from the school, the one that hopefully was my acceptance letter. I took the letter and just stared at it for about five minutes before I had enough guts to open it. I slowly opened it, hearing the seal break apart. I finally managed to open the envelope, but taking the letter out was another thing altogether. I took the letter out after much hyperventilation. I unfolded the letter and quickly scanned the first sentence.

'_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to our college. We look forward to seeing you this fall.'_

I squealed with joy as I jumped up and down. Oh, thank the heavens above. I was getting out of here. Tears of joy rolled down my face and I couldn't stop smiling as I kept rereading the letter over and over again making sure that I didn't just imagine that I got in.

I wanted to move into the dorm as soon as possible. I had gotten a full ride scholarship so I didn't have to worry about the money situation. This meant that I still had all the tons of money saved up from the jobs that I've worked. I reread the letter once again checking to see when the earliest possible time I could move in was. School ended two weeks ago, which meant that we were already in the middle of June. The letter stated that I would have to wait until the middle of July for early dorm registration. All I had to do was live through one more month here and I will be out of here for good.

It was a good thing that it was summer, which meant that I could spend my days away from this horrible place I'm supposed to call home for the next month. It really didn't matter since my mother was never here, but this house was too depressing.

I found myself spending most of my days that month at the library. Once I realized that I could actually be somebody I have taken an interest in reading. Fiction is my favorite genre because it allows me to escape from my life and be in another world altogether, at least for a while.

My last month in this dump went by in a flash, yet not fast enough for my liking. I was already packing my bags awaiting the arrival of the taxi. My mom wasn't here, so I didn't have to worry about her trying to stop me. I did have the courtesy to explain to her that I was in college (not telling her which one) and telling her to have a nice life because I was never coming back.

I took once last look around the house, wanting to make sure I left nothing behind. I didn't want to have a reason to come back to this place. After making sure I had everything, I walked out side to wait for the taxi.

I had my bags and was standing at the curb of the house when the taxi pulled up. Unfortunately, my mother pulled into the driveway at the same time. The cab driver was loading my bags into the trunk when my mother approached me.

"Jessica, what the hell is this? Where in the world do you think you are going?

"I'm going to college mom, far, far away. And you know what else? I'm never looking back. I'm done with this place."

"Jessica, you will never make it. You'll be begging me to come back when you fail. You are a slut and a whore."

"You know what mom, you're the whore! You've probably slept with every guy in the greater Prot Angeles area. I will never be like you."

At this point she slapped me. In all the years that I've been alive, she had never struck me. Tears welled up in my eyes and threatened to spill over. The betrayal and shock hurt worse that the actual slap. The taxi driver was already sitting behind the wheel of the taxi waiting for my to get in.

"Goodbye mom. I hope you have a good life." I opened the door to the taxi before she got a chance to say anything. She was still speechless as I got inside and closed the door to the taxi.

"To the airport please." As we pulled away from _the_ house, not even _my_ house, my mom started screaming.

"JESSICA, GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW! YOU ARE GOING TO FAIL. YOU ARE NOTHING!"

Her screams died out as tears rolled down my face and my past was left further and further away. This was the new Jessica and I would do everything in my power to succeed. I will make sure I never come back here. This part of my life is over. Time to look towards the future. My future.

* * *

**Thank you so much for all your support. I really hope you enjoyed this story. Please review so that I know that I'm not just writing complete crap that people laugh about behind my back. That would make me sad. And you would not like a sad wolf.**


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